Glacadh leis, a nochtadh, machnamh: The Secluded Palace of the Amalfi Coast (in other words, Nick's pad)

As if our trip couldn't become more titillating, I now impart you with images of grandeur and pulchritude (beauty!) that is Jenna's boyfriend's getaway house on the Amalfi Coast. I think we were all lucky enough to be in Italy at the same time Nick and his family would be visiting their rental house, which overlooks the ocean between Italian coastal towns of Sorrento and Positano. After picking Irene, Jenna, and I up from the ferry port in Sorrento, Nick drove us thirty minutes to his house. I was surprised when, on the winding freeway, we had to do a sharp U-turn just to park in his driveway (this place is literally situated right above the freeway). We received a full tour of the house, which included five bedrooms, a kitchen, a pool, four terraces, and a family room.

That evening, their Italian cook made us about fifteen whole pizzas from scratch on their wood-fired pizza oven, which I thought was very exciting to witness in a traditional setting. The rest of our trip entailed lounging by the pool, eating, chatting with his family, and hiking to a sequestered beach we climbed down to from the freeway. Actually, there was a pretty hilarious incident that happened at our "private beach." After swimming around a cove, we lay on the sand and looked to our left and there happened to be a local Italian laying out, too. After a couple of minutes, he decided to strip so that he was sunbathing completely nude (a common occurrence on even public beaches in Italy). Apparently Italian men are very comfortable with themselves, because he decided to walk right by us naked and strike up conversation. I speak for the three of us when I say that we were a little distracted. For our last night on the Amalfi coast, we investigated a local club in Positano that was so much fun. Everything was neon and the walls were fashioned like caves, which made for a really funky aesthetic. On our walk back from the club, we were met with extravagant fireworks that took us off guard. Later we discovered that day was an Italian holiday in honor of one of their patron saints, and the fireworks were in celebration of him. Never have I been so close and witnessed such an elaborate fireworks show, which surpassed Mt. Shasta's one that I see every Fourth of July.

I've included (probably too many) pictures of the house, but I want you to see how stunning it really was.